Witchy Stitchy

not much new...

sunday i crocheted a cute bag, using diagonal crochet. I based the pattern on the Brown Sugar Bag on crochetme. it turned out pretty cute, although I had to alter the pattern to get the color pattern the way i wanted it. instead of crocheting the back and the front flap in one piece, i did two seperate pieces, and joined them together, because i used a diagonal pattern for the whole bag. if i had done it all in one piece, the pattern on the front flap would have gone the opposite direction, and it would have looked weird. then instead of making the strap, and joining all the pieces together, i crocheted the strap around on the bag, starting at the middle of the bottom of the back piece, until i reached the ppoint where I joined the front flap, then I chained until the strap was as long as i wanted it, then picked back up on the other side of the join, working in the round until it was the right thickness. then i turned the bag inside out, and crocheted the front piece on. I'm giving it to a friend for her birthday, hopefully she will like it. it is unlined, so not suitable for small things like pens, but its bigger than i had expected, anyways, so its more like a small bookbag, which is great because she loves to read! I need to take pictures of it before i give it away. my mom really liked how it turned out, i don't know if i'll be making anymore, though. diagonal crochet is fun, but it gets tedious, as each row is bigger than the last one, at least, until you get to the middle. then things get easier, lol. i love the texture it creates, though. i want to do an afghan. i think i'll start with a baby blanket, i have plenty of baby yarn floating around. i wonder how a verigated would look... hmm...
i'm not sure if i posted this here yet, but the cardigan i was making is not getting finished. it doesn't fit in the front, i guess my gauge was off, although it fits across my back just fine. so now i'm debating whether i should rip it out and start over again, or what. it didn't take me too long to make, but i don't know if i want to go through the trouble. i will eventually, because i paid good money for that yarn, but right now its too depressing. for now, i'm just sticking to basic things, using my knifty knitters, and some simple crochet projects. i'm also going to try to learn counted cross stitch. one of my co-workers does it, and it looks so cool. i could never get the hang of it as a kid, but now my mind is more oriented towards counting stitches and using charts, so it could work. i'm going to go to michaels and look for a kit after work. I really want to buy my own spinning wheel. I want an upright wheel, where everything is stacked, i think it would be easier to use and control. my mom's ashford traditional is just too bulky and clumsy for me. i need to finish the ingeo that's on the wheel, so i can ply it, and then i'd like to try and dye it, if i can find a good synthetic dye. that should be absolutely yummy, i love ingeo, i would only spin that if i had the choice, although natural fibers are fun, too. but the ingeo is so incredibly soft and satiny.
in other news, i will be breeding my rabbits. I had originally thought it better not to, but after research, i've decided its better for Barbie's health if i breed her. my mom won't let me get her spayed to prevent uterine cancer, and if she's bred, the chances of her getting that will be reduced, because the reason why rabbits get cancer is because those organs don't get used. Rabbits were designed to be bred. to not breed them, and to leave them intact, is just cruel. maybe not so much with males, but with females, it is. I am a strong advocate of spaying and neutering pets, but i see no problem in breeding for specific purposes. my purpose is for fiber. i wouldn't breed non-wooly rabbits, unless i planned on using them for meat or something, because there are enough homeless buns out there. its the same with other critters. Blair is breeding mice now. sort of. Trevor bought two male mice as feeders, but his snakes wouldn't eat. I named them, and played with them. After a few days, i noticed that Maximus was getting smaller, and sickly looking. after observing the two interact, i realized that Maxi wasn't sick at all, but Sparticus would not let him eat, he would snatch food away from him. Maxi still wanted to snuggle with him, though, he wanted the company. so after i spent a few hours playing with Maxi, encouraging him to eat, (and dying him pink, which is another story), he was really tame. Both mice were still intended to be food at this point, but i didn't care, i wanted him to be healthy and happy until that point. I guess blair and trevor decided to handle him, and realized just how social and friendly he was, and felt sorry for him, so they went out and bought him a new cage, as well as a girlfriend. they decided they could breed the mice and raise the babies for snake food, which i totally support. at least it ensures that the mice will be happy and healthy until they become food, as opposed to living in crowded tanks, with no human interaction, until they get purchased as food. I wish my sister had done some research before making that decision, but i guess they assumed i knew everything about breeding mice, which i don't, but i know enough, so its okay. in about 3 weeks, we should have newborn mice. i'm waiting a few weeks before breeding the rabbits, because i don't want her kindling date to interfere with our planned arizona trip, which i don't even want to go on.

posted by Brittany @ 12:28 PM